Episode Report Card Daniel: B- | 10 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Burger Time
By Daniel | Season 11 | Episode 18 | Aired on 07.11.2013
Ramsay leaves and Susan -- a little tentatively at first -- starts calling out the orders. There don’t seem to be any major hiccups, and then Ramsay comes in, offers an inscrutable "Wow," and takes over for the last table.
When the dining room is cleared, he dresses down the contestants for the disaster of a service, saying they had better services weeks ago. "At this stage of the game, everything you touch has to be your best," he says, and orders them to go choose two people for nomination.
And then the bickering begins. Susan goes on the offensive, going after Mary, and pretty soon it’s really just Susan, Mary and Ja’Nel yelling at each other, particularly Ja’Nel and Susan. Ja’Nel’s had it out the wazoo with Susan and her rookie mistakes, and rattles off a list of ways she thinks she’s better than Susan. The best Susan can muster is a "You’re humble, too," like Susan can learn anything from Ja’Nel about ego.
Everyone heads back into the dining room, where Ramsay, God love him, reiterates his disappointment in them. Susan announces that Mary is the first nominee, but the second nomination is split between Ja’Nel and her. So Ramsay -- pissed at this "split decision" bullshit -- makes them all step forward. They all plead their cases -- the usual "I want this so bad," stuff. Ramsay fakes-out Mary and makes her step back in line, and that really kind of kills any remaining drama, because there’s no way Ja’Nel’s going home over Susan. Still, Ramsay praises her potential and tells her to keep at it, and he may have a job for her some day. Susan, wiping away tears -- she’s glistening in the exit interview -- leaves. As for the rest: "You were all crap. Come back tomorrow ready to fight," says Ramsay. Next week’s episode: Four Chefs Compete (Part 1 of 5)
Daniel is a writer in Newfoundland with a wife and a daughter. In spite of himself, he really wants to see what a $100 burger tastes like. Follow him on Twitter (@DanMacEachern) or email him at danieljdaniel@gmail.com.
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